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Most 12th Graders Don't Think Marijuana Use Is Harmful

Most 12th Graders Don't Think Marijuana Use Is Harmful

(HealthDay News) – Marijuana use is increasing among high school students, and less than 40% of 12th graders perceive regular use as harmful, according to results of the Monitoring the Future survey, conducted for the National Institutes of Health.

Researchers surveyed 41,675 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students from 389 public and private schools regarding their drug, alcohol, and cigarette use.

According to the survey, 39.5% of 12th graders perceive regular marijuana use as harmful, a decrease from 44.1% last year, and lower than rates from the last two decades. Furthermore, the rates of daily marijuana use have increased consistently, from 2.4% in 1993 to 6% in 2003 and 6.5% in 2013. Among 12th graders, almost 23% and just over 36% reported having smoked marijuana in the past month or year, respectively. For 10th graders, the corresponding figures were 18% and 29.8%, respectively, with 4% reporting daily use. More than 12% of eighth graders reported using marijuana in the past year. Thirty-four percent of 12th-grade marijuana users obtained marijuana from someone else's medical prescription and more than 6% have their own prescriptions.

"These increases in marijuana use over the past few years are a serious setback in our nation's efforts to raise a healthy generation of young people," Gil Kerlikowske, director of National Drug Control Policy, said in a statement.